Developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by SEGA, ‘Yakuza: Like A Dragon’ is the eighth main installment to the Yakuza series and is available on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X and on PC.

Unlike past games, players will not be in the role of Kazuma Kiryu instead the new main role is a lower level member of the Yakuza named Ichiban Kasuga. After being sent to prison for eighteen years, he is then betrayed by his former boss and family, Kasuga, he then sets off on a new task to become a hero and uncover why the betrayal happened in the first place. It certainly offers a great story for players to follow.

The play style of Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a new concept to the series as it is a turn-based combat system as seen in the Final Fantasy games. As you progress in the story, you will meet old friends and new ones that will join your party and assist you in combat. There is also a summon system where you can summon Kiryu into a fight to unleash a beat down. There are many summons that can be acquired from a wide range of funny to serious attacks or for the assistance they can offer.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon takes a step in the way of fully-fledged RPG style as there are job roles that characters can take. Jobs do come with loadouts that are set for them and new abilities to fit for the job roles. For example, the Hero job for Kasuga gives him a weapon over just fighting with his fists. Players can get access to the job tree section at the start of Chapter 5.

For the first time in the series, the game shifts focus away from Tokyo as it takes place in the Yokohama district of Isezaki Ijincho. The world of Yakuza has kept its track of being fun to explore and is filled with side attractions that players can take part in to take a break from the main story, so take a break and visit the Sega Arcade and play some classic games like Virtual Fighter 2 or drop on in and sing some lines in a karaoke bar.

The controls for this title are very easy to pick up and learn for first-time series players, with the actions the player can do on their turns such as Attack, Guard or use items and abilities layed out for you. Outside of combat there is not much use for the buttons as you will just be walking around till the next encounter happens. The inventory options of Yakuza: Like a Dragon are very similar to the others in the series which makes for easy navigation and usage for healing items or stuff to sell for extra money.

Visually, Yakuza: Like A Dragon is bright and colourful which makes the city really pop with life. Nothing has changed with the look of the series with this installment which is what I liked since if’ ‘it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. The mini-map will be the best friend you have wanted in the game as it marks the main missions and points of interest like stores, sub-stories, and entertainment locations.

The Yakuza series has always had a few comedic elements to the games and Like A Dragon does not fail in this part either. There’s a parody side mission based on Pokemon, where Kasuga and his team are told about a series of red, blue, and green ‘dangerous men’ know as the ‘Sujimon’. It is just a nice nod to the starting selection for Pokemon and there are 255 Sujimon to find and defeat which can be tracked with the Sujidex.

Like the other games within the Yakuza series, there is a lot of dialogue and cutscenes and more time running around the streets than in fights. There are fast travel spots which are taxis but I didn’t mind running around as it helped me level up faster just getting into as many fights from point A to B.

During fights, there can be some funny moments due to environmental elements. If a fight starts in the middle of the road don’t expect traffic to care; cars will still drive as normal and can be an extra threat or assistance. The streets are narrow so there can be a few moments where a character will get slightly clip behind a solid object but they do correct themself.

Another extra combat touch that I love is if there is an object that can be moved in the way of you and the target they will move it by force which can get a cheeky bit of damage if it hits someone. Also, if they are very close to the object instead of a standard attack the character will pick up what it is and use it as a weapon for that attack so traffic cones and bikes are all fair game.

If you happen to lose a fight you will not be greeted with a game over screen, you will just lose some money that you had on you and all characters will be on one health point, so be sure to have some healing items on hand at all times.

I have only recently played the Yakuza series but had always been interested in them. Yes, Like A Dragon is a whole new way it plays out but it is still very fun and delivers the vibe of the great series with great stories. I do look forward to seeing what is next in the series and whether they will stick with this combat system or find a way to blend the two styles together. Yakuza: Like A Dragon is certainly a must-have game with so much to do in it.

Written by: Shane Walsh